The Chicago Bulls have been a Play-In team for the past few years. They have yet to break that barrier, and their offseason moves have not pushed them in the direction towards winning. The Bulls have more moves to make, but as it stands right now, the team is struggling to make themselves competitive for the upcoming season.

Free agency has just started for all the teams. However, some teams are making some better moves than others. Whether this comes in the form of a trade, a contract extension, or signing a true free agent, there are going to always be good moves and bad moves. In fact, we just saw Kevin Durant get traded in a record-breaking deal.

Looking at Chicago, they have made a few moves of their own. However, there is one that stands out among the rest.

Bulls offseason moves so far

At this point in free agency the Bulls have made a couple moves. They decided to bring back Tre Jones on a three-year deal, but that has been their only free agency signing. Along with that, Chicago traded Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaac Okoro. Those are the two main moves Chicago has made.

One move the Bulls have yet to make is extending Josh Giddey’s contract. Giddey and Bulls are still working on their extension talks, but it does not seem like things are getting close. Not reaching an agreement with Giddey would end up being the worst move the Bulls make all offseason, but there is still time for them to make a deal.

With the very few moves made this free agency period, there is one clear answer for the worst move Chicago has made during free agency.

The Bulls are overpaying Tre Jones

As mentioned, the Bulls gave Jones three years for $24 million. That comes out to $8 million per year, but there is a team option for after the second year. That does make the contract a little bit more team friendly, but $8 million per year seems a bit generous.

Last season, Jones was acquired from the San Antonio Spurs in the three-team trade that sent Zach Lavine to the Sacramento Kings. The point guard played significantly better for Chicago than he did for San Antonio. In the Windy City, Jones averaged 11.2 points per game, 4.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 0.8 turnovers in 25.3 minutes per game.

Jones is an excellent shooter, but he does not take many shots. He is more of a sixth-man role player, but the Bulls might want him to be in the starting lineup next season. He is always going to be a good free throw shooter, so Jones is a player the team will want on the floor at the end of the game.

The problem with this deal is the money. Now, it is nowhere near the highest paid player on the Bulls at the moment. However, he can not be expected to repeat his production from last season. In fact, his time with the Bulls was his best since the 2022/23 season. In that year, Jones was much worse shooting, and started losing his full-time starting spot the next year. Without the production from last season, signing Tre Jones to that contract seems to be a reach.

The Bulls have not made many moves, but giving Jones three years for $24 million is shaping up to be a worse move than trading Lonzo Ball.